Matilda the Musical was launched on Netflix on Dec. 2, 2022. The movie was written by the Director Dennis Kelly. He wrote the story of a girl that became a genius on her own primarily through books. Matilda’s parents were supposed to be homeschooling her, but only influenced her to watch television.

The musical was a remake of the original produced in 1996. These two films have the same storyline, but are told in very different ways. The version from 1996 is from more of a movie-like perspective, while the 2022 version is told with more music. 

In a google survey, sophomore Alyssa Roe stated, “Obviously the 2022 version is a musical, the 1996 one is not. I think the 2022 one had many songs and didn’t focus on the actual story.”

The main character Matilda did especially great throughout this musical. Knowing this was one of actress Alisha Weir’s first big roles, she was unbelievable at playing her character and helped lead the storyline about how she isn’t just an ordinary student.

This musical was packed with a lot of music and songs, but my personal favorite was “Naughty” which was one of Matilda’s songs in this film. This scene added to Matilda’s character very well in the beginning of the musical, and it showed us what kind of person she really is. 

Freshman Lillian Smith stated in a Google survey, “Matilda [is my favorite] because she was a very smart and intelligent young woman.” 

If you are a big fan of movies with a lot of music and singing, I would recommend you to go watch this film. If you are more on the side of less music in a movie, I would recommend the 1996 version of Matilda. Overall I think all of the actors in this movie portrayed their roles very well so it was enjoyable to watch. 

If you are interested in the movie, you are able to watch the 2022 version on Netflix. If you are also interested in watching the 1996 version, you are able to watch the film on Amazon Prime, HBO max, Vudu, RedBox, and Apple Tv.